Drowning In Blue
by Neranimmisar
Summary: Azureshipping. Tea is fleeing a new enemy out to catch her and finds herself stuck in a warehouse with access to testing virutal systems Kaiba Corp is developing. To get out of the place she has to access the programs and hope to have Kaiba save her.
1. C1: Into the Dream

**Drowning in Blue**

"_Our subconscious minds have no sense of humor, play no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image. What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives."_

**-Sidney Madwed**

**Chapter One:** _Into the Dream_

"Why does this always happen to me?! Help!" Tea screamed in protest of the men that were chasing after her. Her legs were killing her, the backs of her thighs sending needles of pain arching up into her brain as she continued to dash with a strange limp laden gait. _"I have to stop soon or my lungs are going to burst!"_

Her breath was coming so fast she wasn't sure if it was her gasps for air, her face-paced heartbeat, or her uneven steps as she dashed down the hill that managed to be loudest. Her chest felt like someone had started a fire in it, if she didn't stop soon she was afraid she really would combust.

The wind tore through her cinnamon hair, knocking her short bangs out of her face as she raced, the jacket of her uniform catching and snapping with every other step. Her clothing ruffled from the struggle prior to when she began her mad long distance sprint. Her sapphire eyes wide as she searched for some way out of the back alleys and onto a main road where someone might have a chance of seeing her.

"_Why did I ever agree to come over and go fishing with the gang anyway!? I hate fishing!"_ She thought as she searched fruitfully. _"There isn't anywhere for me to run here! I can't even hide! It's all warehouses and back alleys!"_

She had just been looking to spend a little time with everyone before the school year began again, they would finally be seniors this year and Tristan's parents had rented a boat for a day for them to all have a little party. It had been fun enough - they hadn't caught any fish, probably been making too much noise with folks arguing.

"Doesn't matter now! At this rate I'll never make it to my first day more or less graduation!? What the hell are people after me for now anyway?" She thought bitterly as she pressed a hand to her side, doing what she could to ignore the stitch that was steadily growing more painful as she moved.

"Find her! She can't have gotten far!" The people behind her were yelling.

"At least that means I got out of sight." She thought as she gritted her teeth, finally widening her eyes as she noticed one of the more secure warehouses with a door that locked on it's own was ajar. "Bingo! Finally a little luck coming my way."

She didn't hesitate, who knew how quickly the mysterious goons might catch up to her. She disappeared into the warehouse and closed the door as softly but quickly as she could. Wincing at the slight slam but leaning on it for good measure as she bent over coughing.

She was fighting to catch her breath after the frightening chase, her gaze of the slate floor had spots of black appearing and disappearing as her body threatened to pass out from the lack of oxygen. The nails of her fingers digging into her knees where they were holding on…letting the pain help her push away the wave of dizziness. Though that only reminded her of the flames that seemed to have consumed her lungs, making her unable to stop the coughing fit even as she continued to try to catch her breath.

"_I really have to stop being stalked by random evil people. Does this have to do with Yugi again? But…Marik and Bakura are both gone…who else could want anything from him? Why do people have to take duel monsters so seriously!?"_ She continued her mental tirade, trying to quit making noise as she complained about her sad circumstances. _"I mean yeah there is that whole great earthly power thing…but man…no other bad guys are suppose to know about that!"_

She finally slid down the cool metal door of the warehouse, having caught enough of her breath that she was able to stop coughing, it still burned but she would manage. The stitch in her side and the pain still radiating from the backs of her thighs were more than enough reason not to move from where she'd stopped - she wasn't even sure if she could have if she needed to. Then she held her breath as she heard the harsh static of a walkie-talkie, wishing for her heart to stop beating so loudly as she strained to make out what was being said.

"I lost her boss." The voice was definitely one of the goons that had been after her. It was the one she'd kneed in the groin when he'd first grabbed her arm. "Don't worry about it. If we don't talk to her now, we'll catch up to her later. She's a jumpy little witch."

She leaned her head closer to the door but to little avail, she wasn't able to pick up anymore of the conversation as the man walked off. Blinking a couple times as she started to breath again, coughing as softly as possible and holding her throat to try to keep herself quiet - fearing she'd be heard.

"_What is that? They didn't act like they just wanted to talk! They grabbed me and told me I was coming with them!? That mindless goon!"_ She snapped mentally at the guy outside. _"I'm not about to ask if it was a misunderstanding after that…I just hope the rest of the guys are okay."_

She narrowed her eyes in a squint now that it seemed that the chase for her was off, it'd probably be best if she found a phone somewhere and called the cops before just walking out. _"Don't wanna just end up wandering back into those guys again."_

"_What is this anyway?"_ She whispered as she looked around. _"Doesn't look like any warehouse I've ever been in before. Where are the boxes?"_

The place seemed more like some sort of high tech lab than a warehouse, there were a bunch of computers and wiring and other equipment that was hard to make out but seemed immense. She dug into her backpack and found a small pen light, it wasn't the best but it was something…

She fiddled for a moment before she managed to get it turned on. Moving it around the room and then blinking again as she landed on the large objects settled along one of the walls. _"It can't be…those things…those were the capsules we were in when we were trapped in Noah's virtual world."_

She knew the room seemed familiar when she first entered but this was a bit much to take in. _"This must be one of the warehouses owned by the Kaiba corporation…figures I would find one of the ones that has to do with Kaiba. Oh, thank goodness."_

She ignored the mental transferring virtual devices to move over to a phone she noticed on one of the various computer laden desks. Smiling at the phone until she lifted it to an ear and it didn't give her a signal. _"Damn it, the power must be off."_

She pouted a moment at the dead phone and set it back on the receiver to look around again. _"Maybe there is some sort of switch to turn the power on. If all this stuff is in here they have to have some sort of way to use it right?"_

She nodded to her own question, continuing to look around at all the details of the room as she walked. _"This place is sort of creepy…I didn't really want to think about that little creep Noah right after being chased down by goons. Just another one on the list of weirdo's we've had to defeat over the years."_

She still remembered her last poor experience being chased around and nearly made into ogre soup and being frozen solid when she was last in that virtual world. It wasn't something she was too keen on remembering and didn't want to repeat again. _"After all the stuff we've been through I'd rather keep my feet on real ground."_ She frowned as she failed to find any sort of power switches, digging through her bag - no, her cell phone couldn't get a signal in this windowless building. She tossed it back into the backpack in irritation. "Damn, what if those goons are still out there? I can't just hang around in here forever though."

She moved back over to the door and reached for the handle, letting her fingers curl around it and taking a deep breath. "Guess I need to be ready again to run like hell."

She ignored the pain in her legs and took a deep breath to prepare to run again. Then nearly slammed into the door as she pulled at it and it didn't budge an inch. After pausing in shock a moment she tugged at the door with both hands, putting a leg on the wall to help her pull. _"Oh no…the door can only open with the keycard even if you are on the inside! I've locked myself in!"_

She fought with the stubborn passage a while longer before sighing in defeat and turning around to kick one of the consoles. _"Why is it always me?!"_

The room's lights flickered after her strike and she jumped away when the panel sparked a little. "Whoa…shouldn't Kaiba keep his machines in a better state of repair?"

"**Interactive Virtual Kaiba Recreation System Test Sight C start." **The serious female voice that often accompanied Kaiba corporation computers announced. **"Scanning room. One Tester Found, opening Virtual Capsule two. Which program would you like to engage?"**

The second connection system from the left side of the room hissed and it popped open, ready for someone to lie down in it with Tea's general size and body type.

"_Uh oh…That's sort of creepy that it has me sized up…"_ She thought sheepishly as she listened to the voice and squinted through the suddenly new illuminated room. _"Oh, the phone might work now!"_

"Hello, hello?!" She tried into the receiver, but the lack of tone was instead now giving her a busy signal. "Figures…it still doesn't work. Why the hell is this here anyway?"

"**Input not recognized. Would you like a list of options on the main screen?"**

"_uh…Yes?"_ She commented to the computer, for all she'd been through it was still weird to just speak aloud and have objects react to her. _"It can't hurt to look I guess. Maybe there will be someway to contact Kaiba in here. I have to get a hold of someone somehow! I don't wanna be trapped in here."_

Tea sighed and sat down in the chair, looking at the screen as it lit up with a long list of items.

"_Well…these are mostly different levels of dueling and areas for it."_ She commented as she scrolled through the list…_ "Wait…vacation spots? The Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China? I never knew Kaiba was so traveled. It's not a bad idea though, wonder why this stuff isn't being worked on anymore…of course, he's been busy with us all getting trapped in ancient Egypt for a while and defeating Bakura and all. Some projects probably got pushed back and it's not just defective in some way, right? I hope so anyway if I wanna get out of this warehouse."_

She sighed at that, muttering. "Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire."

"**Input not recognized. Please name one of the programs on the displayed list."**

"Hold on a second, I'm looking." the high school girl protested irritably.

"**Input not recognized. Please name one of the programs on the displayed list."**

"_That's annoying."_ She thought bitterly toward the room in general, then paused as she noted numbers next to the list. _"Oh wait, look at that…"_

And as her gaze traveled up the screen it read that those numbers we're the frequency of how the program was used. She clicked a couple times and managed to get the programs listed by how often they were used instead of by name.

"_Well, the three highest ones are what seem to be a difficult dueling simulation, a chess simulation, and a sort of role playing styled game by the look of them and the description." _She shook her head with a sigh. _"You are such a dork Kaiba."_

"_Oh…the rpg one was just accessed yesterday! Let's hope he keeps up his geeky habits and accesses again really soon!"_

"Okay, I choose Kaiba's Crystalline Tales." She nodded at her decision. _"So I'm a dork too, but I sorta liked the last time we had a game…other than the big 5...but without some evil force trying to take over I guess virtual reality shouldn't be so bad."_

"**Program Crystalline Tales, accessing...program ready. Please prepare for mental connection to the mainframe."**

"_Eh, I hope so anyway."_

Tea considered the machine as she looked around the computer filled room again and frowned. "It doesn't seem like I have much of a choice…"

"**Please prepare for mental connection to the mainframe."**

"_God this thing is impatient isn't it?"_ She glared at the speakers in the ceiling. _"Impatient and rude…just like Kaiba. All right, well…lets see how this goes I suppose."_

She took another deep breath and climbed into the machine, at least it was comfortable. The whole thing had slightly tight but comfortable padding. The velvety cloth was a gentle sky blue -no surprise- and a bit cool at first but she knew that it would warm up now that she laid down. A sort of headset came down over her eyes and chilly metal rods touched her temples, making her squirm a little but she forced herself to relax as the hood of the machine slid shut again.

The whole thing vibrated a moment and then the air started to smell sweeter, almost like bubble gum, and she started to feel more tired, letting her eyes blink a few times before closing. _"So…is it some sort of sleeping gas? Is that really safe? Guess it's a little late to be worried about that…hope that this doesn't take too long…"_

Tea felt herself drifting to sleep as her mind started to enter into the virtual world amidst a field of blue…

**End Chapter**

**So…thoughts, hopes, critics? I'd be happy with some reviews at all really.**

**-Nera**


	2. C2: Digital Wonder

**Drowning in Blue**

"_There is a difference between a question and a wonder. I would prefer to answer only questions that will be useful to you. A child looks up at the starry sky at night and wonders. He is filled with the joy of the mystery of creation. Why should I explain everything to you and take away that joy? I will not. The purpose of my words is to create silence, to create joy. I am not here to stuff your head full of knowledge. A child starts out innocent. You ask him something and he says, "I don't know." Then that child grows up and thinks he knows everything. I'll teach you something, both of you. I'll teach you to say, "I don't know," and be glad. That is true knowledge."_

_**-Christopher Pike**_

**Chapter Two:** _Digital Wonder_

"I don't continue to employ worthless imbeciles."

The deep baritone of Seto Kaiba's superior tone only added weight to the insult. If it wasn't enough that he still had loads of paperwork to deal with back in his office one of his security companies was failing to live up to expectations. A detail that the cold teenager wasn't going to put up with any longer.

"You are to have your building cleaned out of everything you wish to keep your greedy hands on by this evening or expect your competition to be holding onto it." He ordered the sweating suit across from him. The older gentleman nervously wringing his hands as he stared into the icy blue gaze of his now former boss.

"Sir please, we did what we could. It was a single mistake." The man tried to plead his case further but was interrupted.

"In a line of screw-ups." Seto replied and shook his head. "Sense I need to spell it out for you Godfrey, you and your company of morons are fired. If you aren't out by this evening you'll be evicted by force, just consider me as being generous. Your lease was up last week."

As if to reply to any other protests that might be raised the young CEO turned around and headed back out of the building.

It wasn't as if the company hadn't deserved to be terminated, they had been failing to hold up their end of the security contract for nearly a month. They had several occasions where they'd left secure buildings open to the public as well as times when their personal botched showing up to the assigned location whatsoever. They weren't even late, they just didn't come at all. It was only his being away in Egypt for that pointless history lesson that they were able to get away with the poor show of professionalism at all.

Perhaps no one warranted the rudeness that tended to come with being fired by Seto Kaiba, but he wasn't concerned with hurting their feelings after their lack of responsibility had cost his company a little respect.

He moved from the leased office space and onto the roof, his helicopter was the only quick way to travel around the busy streets of Domino city after all. He ignored the loud thrumming the blades made - long used to the background noise that accompanied such a luxury and climbed into the back of the maneuverable air vehicle. He had so much work to catch up on after his trip that a pilot for his day of business meetings was needed so he could spend the short times between flights chipping away at the long list of emails awaiting in his inbox.

"You really need to take a vacation bro." Mokuba commented as his brother went right back to his laptop after getting into the helicopter. "You have barely stopped working sense you got home yesterday."

"There is a lot I need to get done Mokuba." Kaiba resisted the urge to raise his voice, they had been over this three times already today. "I took a break last night like you requested to fiddle with the test systems of the virtual recreational project. I can't just spend all my time playing anymore, there is a lot that needs to be done."

"You have to relax too though." the younger Kaiba brother shook his head. "You have secretaries and me to help you with things but you are just running away from whatever has been bothering you sense you went to Egypt."

"Nothing has been bothering me. Other than the useless companies that want to be affiliated with us then fail to live up to the standards they agreed to." Seto replied, not looking up from the current email he was replying to.

"Yeah, but that's the last one you needed to talk to." Mokuba observed. "I want you to take a break when we get home and relax for a while Seto. I haven't seen you smile sense you've been home. At least it makes me feel a little better when you let yourself take a break for a bit."

"_I'm getting soft."_ Kaiba thought to himself with a mental sigh. His brother had always been the one able to pull him back from work to fun when he needed it. "All right, I'll fiddle with my visual system again tonight…then I can relax as you say and test for bugs."

"Agreed." The youngster nodded his head in a matter-of-fact fashion. _"Seto, you have to learn when to slow down a little bit on your own. What would you do without me around?"_

The younger brother returned to his own reading, he would be entering the fourth grade soon and was interested in his new school. Much like Seto, he was required to get at least a high school degree before he could take over any real responsibility in his company. His brother had been given some leeway despite his youth because their adopted father had disappeared but Mokuba wouldn't be given the same and he needed to work hard so that as he did get older he could officially take more of the hard work from his older brother.

Seto had to let himself take a deep breath and loosen up a little at his brother's comments and his own return to work. He had realized that the two of them always looked out for one another a long time ago and despite being annoyed on occasion he appreciated what his brother did for him.

Not that he would admit it out loud. He returned to his email - at least he could get through more of the daunting filled inbox before he would be guilt tripped by his brother into continuing his testing of the visual systems they had started to test with over the last several months.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

She was still very groggy.

Like her brain and body just didn't want to wake up yet.

"_Why is my cheek wet?"_ Tea thought vaguely as she slowly started to regain something akin to consciousness. _"Wait…shouldn't I be in the virtual reality now?"_

She moaned a bit as she turned over in the smooth silky sheets of the bed she was in. _"Man, I still feel so tired…wait…ew."_

She frowned as she pushed herself up, one side of her face damp from her having drooled on it for a while…there was even a spot on her pillow where her saliva had started to make a small pool. The expensive fluid fiber of the sheets was a sharp cerulean…darker where she'd been slobbering. She took some of the dry linen to wipe her face off as she looked around.

"Man, talk about being obsessed with a color." She commented as she noted that the entire room was decorated in various shades of blue. The bed, the carpet, even the walls were a paler shade, at least the furniture was made from some wood stained white. She had to admit it did feel real. The folds of the cloth between her fingers sleek and delicate - enjoyable to feel. The mattress still held warmth from where she'd been laying.

"_This is more like the technology that Noah had." _She admitted as she scooted to the edge of the huge bed to sit up. _"Though I have to say this experience with it is already much better than the last one."_

The room seemed like one of those you might find at some sort of expensive hotel, there weren't a lot of decorations and while the furniture was nice it was simple. It didn't actually look lived in, it was too uncluttered and without the normal small details that would indicate constant use.

There were three doors in the room, one that was already open lead to a similarly colored bathroom and another to a closet with a few simple pieces of clothing hanging inside. The last one was closed but she could only assume it lead into a hallway of some kind.

She pushed herself up, stretching a moment to try to get the blood flowing. _"Does that even work in a virtual world? Am I just being silly?"_ She stretched anyway and moved over to the closet only to smile when she walked inside. What at first appeared to be only a thin selection had turned into a small store worth of clothing for her. _"This place is getting better all the time…wow, look at all these clothes I have to choose from."_

She got distracted for several minutes picking out what to wear. Finally settling on a short white skirt that fit well and a pretty turquoise top with a matching white jacket. She put a finger over her lips as she went back inside and thought about the shoe selection. _"Maybe virtual reality isn't so bad after all."_

After a few more minutes of accessorizing she picked out some calf-high white leather boots and armbands that matched the usual ones she wore in reality. _"Course, I can't sit have fun with clothes all day…I'm still actually trapped in a warehouse in the real world. I need to try to find a way to contact Kaiba."_

That sobering thought made the experience more serious than it might have been otherwise and she moved to the hallway of this strange manor/hotel place. There were people wandering the hallways but none seemed to paying much attention to her, cleaning or walking through to get to somewhere else.

She wandered over to one of what seemed to be the staff. A young man in a suit with short blonde hair that was cleaning a mirror. "Hey sorry…do you know where I can find Kaiba?"

The butler/cleaner paused to look at her and then smiled. "You must mean Lord Kadon, he is away from the manner at the moment but if you'd like miss I will inform him when he arrives."

"_Lord? Come on Kaiba…gimme a break." _She sighed a little. "That would be great, thank you."

"Of course miss." The butler nodded to her. "Can I do anything else for you?"

"No, thanks. Sorry to bother you." She held up her hands and smiled awkwardly before heading away down the hall. _"Well damn, the game must know when he's accessing. What am I suppose to do now?"_

"Ma'am, you shouldn't wander far from the village - at least not without a weapon of some kind. Monsters have been plaguing the local forests and without the Lord Kadon here to fend them off I doubt you'd make it far." The butler offered her, nodding toward a set of steps. "If you want to chance it though there are a small selection of weapons downstairs in the armory you are welcome to take if they will help you."

"Um…thanks." Tea offered sheepishly. _"This is so cheesy…so…should I guess I play along and get a weapon then?"_

She shrugged a bit to herself and moved down the stairs, looking at the various doors and moving into the one with a statue of armor next to it. Opening it and looking at the single weapons rack. _"A sword, a staff, a bow, and a mace? Huh…well. Seems like the best idea would be the bow…if I have to attack something rather do it at a distance. But…a sword might not be bad either."_

She shrugged and picked up both, they said she could have them. She might not decide to leave at all but no reason not to be prepared if she had to look somewhere else. She nodded then, looking around. It all seemed very real but it was simple, there weren't the small details that would make the place actually feel like a home. She had to take a second look when she stepped outside however.

The front of the estate where she woke up smelled like flowers, the yard being covered in cherry trees that were blossoming. The gentle pink pedals littering the otherwise green grass between the cobblestone path that lead up to the front. Her appreciation for detail reaching a new high when she bent down and picked up a pedal, able to feel it's soft cottony fibers between her fingers as if it really were the actual thing.

"This is amazing…" She breathed deeply again to take in the crisp pleasant air, it was a noticeable difference from the stuffier air that had been inside. The small winds gusting through the yard made the temperature in the mid-afternoon weather a bit cool but otherwise ideal. "It's hard to believe this is just a bunch of computer code…"

She just stood there a moment before some angry voice drew her eyes downward. "Hey! Get out of the way lady!"

There was a younger boy carrying a big package between both of his arms and waiting for Tea to move so he could get inside, she jumped to open the door for him after being yelled at. "Oh sorry, here."

"Thanks." The boy seemed relieved when she held the door for him. "You are nicer than that other guy that lives here. He's such a rude person, just cause he has money he thinks he can walk all over everybody."

"Oh, no problem…sorry I didn't notice you before." Tea offered to the boy kindly, smiling at his attitude. _"Yep, that has to be Kaiba. So I wonder when he'll access this program again…not that exploring a little could hurt. He'll probably throw a fit when and if he finds me in his little test facility."_

"Nathan!" A woman's voice chided the boy from inside. "Don't talk about the Lord like that. Our town is only safe because of him battling off the monsters outside. Otherwise we'd still have to fear even walking around the village. Get inside now and leave the new lady alone."

"Well, now what?" She pondered aloud after the door closed and the woman drug the boy again. She walked toward the front of the manor as the doors had closed behind her. "Am I suppose to go help fight off these monsters?"

Images of ogres trying to make her into soup popped up to haunt her. _"On second thought I'll just look around the village."_

She had to admit that the place felt real and she had to keep reminding herself it was just an illusion being put into her brain. There were a few other rich homes on the street where she'd started and then some hills lead down into a market area with less grand homes spread here and there. It was much like other role-playing games she'd tried on consoles - though with a twist she had to admit was amazing. Actually being there made just walking around enjoyable. People moved about, buying and selling, working and managing, going about daily lives.

"It really is it's own little world." She complimented as she paused at a cart selling flowers - each one when she got close enough did have it's own scent…including some types she didn't recognize.

People spoke to her and before too long she realized she was playing some kind of part in the game as well. People continued to call her 'Lady Celia' and so she just started to go with it, that was some of the fun. Though it didn't take her long to realize she was more well liked than Kaiba's character.

"_Well that isn't too surprising…who other than Mokuba actually likes Kaiba?"_ She chuckled. _"I mean, he's okay sometimes but he needs to get over that ego of his. Even in his game he made himself a lord."_

She giggled as she overhead someone else insulting Kaiba's character, pausing to take some sweets a girl had offered her for free. Staring blankly at the basket of tasty looking strawberry pastries. _"How does food work here anyway? It smells good, but can I actually taste things here?"_

She shrugged and reached to pick one up, wouldn't know until she tried. It was still warm in her hand, some of the gooey melted sugar sticking to her fingers and the sides of her mouth as she took a bite.

She could taste even the warmth in her mouth, the strawberry's, sugar, and baked bread all mixed together. It was great!

"See, this is the idea…think about how much weight folks could lose if they just pretended to eat food instead of actually eating it!" She tore into the pastries at the thought, appreciatively accepting a glass of cold milk that just hit the spot. "Those were just amazing, thank you."

The people that were around were staring at her…no wonder, she'd just downed five of the things in a few minutes…

"Does the lord starve you up in his manor?" The young girl that had brought the basket asked curiously with wide eyes - as if imagining how horrible it would be.

"No, no…" She raised both hands, if she ruined Kaiba's game he would kill her. "I just forgot to have breakfast this morning and I was very hungry."

"Oh." The girl grinned innocently at her, immediately accepting the excuse. "That makes sense. I've done that. I'm glad you liked them so much lady Celia. I'll have to have mom send up some to the manor for his lordship. Have a good day."

The girl took her basket and was off. Making Tea stare after her a moment, she was still trying to adjust to this whole thing being fake. Though she was starting to worry now that a fair amount of time had seemed to pass in her searching. _"How long will I be stuck here? I hope someone logs onto Kaiba's system soon."_

Then she glanced up as she saw everything seem to flicker, though no one else seemed to notice, then she heard screaming back in the nicer area of the town. _"Uh oh…what now?"_

"Monsters! There are monsters attacking the Lord's Estate!" Someone was screaming.

"_Sorry I asked…"_

**End Chapter**

**Not as much action as I would have liked but I wanted to develop just how nifty the visual technology had been. Also, because I forgot it on chapter one: I do not own Yugioh or the characters and such…blah blah blah disclaimer blah. Review please!**

**-Nera**

**Cinderpool - I don't think she 'just decided' to go. It was more of a 'well I need to get out of here somehow'.**


	3. C3: Malfunction

_**Drowning in Blue**_

_Footfalls echo in the memory Down the passage which we did not take Towards the door we never opened Into the rose-garden. My words echo Thus, in your mind._

_**-T.S. Eliot "Four Quartets"**_

**Chapter Three:** _Malfunction_

"What's happening here? This attack wasn't suppose to happen yet." Kaiba blinked in surprise upon entering his visual gaming program. "So much for this meaning I get to relax. Do I have some sort of glitch in my system?"

He picked up items from his room, moving quickly with the calls of attacks coming from the downstairs of his character's estate, a sword in one hand as he moved down the steps and then paused suddenly, the scene before him making him freeze in astonishment of what he was seeing.

The smaller wolf monsters attacking the manor we're being harried by an archer - not an odd thing in and of itself…but the archer was part of the geek squad. Tea Gardner was in his program killing his monsters, and not doing so bad at it really…though she was backing herself into a corner.

He was tempted to move in and finish the enemies but he wasn't about to bother when he apparently had other issues to deal with. "Emergency override of aggressors. System remove monsters within the village of Urrn."

"**Command Recognized. Ceasing battle measures."**

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"_How do I get myself into these situations?"_ Tea complained to herself as she released shot after shot at strange wolf creatures with long fangs. _"Oh, the system can't be that bad I say…"_

Tea ran back to the manor after she heard people yelling about monsters, drawing the bow she had picked up from the armory earlier she jumped into battle when she noted that one of the wicked wolves chasing the girl that had offered her the pastries earlier. She just dove into the action and started taking shots at the monsters. She knew it had to be part of the game that she had a clue of how to actually hit cause Tea doubted she could manage to do so if it actually was real.

"_But now I'm getting backed into a corner…soon I'm gonna be doggy dinner!"_ Tea thought frantically as she took another shot, moving back until she hit a wall. _"I'm such a goner."_

"**Command Recognized. Ceasing battle measures."**

She blinked and looked around at the female voice of the computer, the monsters disappeared right after she spoke so it had to be something to do with that. Then she noticed a battle-city dressed Kaiba and leaned on the wall to relax. _"He must have stopped the monsters."_

"What are you doing here Gardner?" His tone was as cold as ever, perhaps there was some anger there as well.

"Well I ah…um…" She scratched the back of her head nervously at that. "I sort of got trapped in one of your warehouses near the port…and this was the only chance I had of contacting anyone."

He raised a brown brow skeptically. "So you broke into one of our testing facilities?"

"No. Can you listen?" She snapped, raising one of her hands. _"Man, this guy is such a jerk."_

"I was being chased by some goons and ran into one of the warehouses where the door was already open, I didn't break in. But then when I shut the door it locked me inside. I got away from the goons but the phone wasn't working and so I thought I might be able to contact someone here." She ranted irritably and took a breath. "Obviously it was the best idea cause here you are."

"I'll remain skeptical to that story but sense you are apparently enjoying yourself convince me as to why I should waste my time to come unlock a warehouse." Seto commented, still glaring at her as he made the threat.

"Wait…you wouldn't…you can't just leave me to rot away in your warehouse!?" Tea frowned, hands in fists at her sides. "That's against the law."

"So is trespassing." He remarked dispassionately. "Should I have you arrested then? I'm sure the police would be glad to escort you out."

"Kaiba…even you can't be that much of a prick!" She snapped back at him, walking up to get right into his face. "I need to get out of there…my other friends could be in danger."

"_God, he is scary when he's mad."_ Tea thought to herself sheepishly. Doing her best to put up a strong front despite wanting to look away from that drowning azure gaze.

"Relax Gardner." He finally shrugged and closed his eyes. "I'll come down to the test site and let you out, though I haven't decided yet if I'll bring the police with me. Quit accessing so I can restart the program and then I'll drive over. Even when you aren't out dueling, you and your friends manage to waste my time."

She frowned at him at that and ignored the rudeness for now. She didn't want him to arrest her. "Wait…quit accessing how?"

"You didn't even read the manual? Guess you are dumber than I thought." Kaiba sighed and spoke slower, as if he was addressing someone too stupid to understand. "You need to give the computer a command by saying 'System' first. Then giving this command: Relinquish access, begin revival sequence."

"Some things never change. Once a bastard, always a bastard." Tea forced herself to take a deep breath and nodded. "System. Relinquish access, begin revival sequence."

"**Accessing Command….Error. Unable to comply. Require new command."**

"What? What's that mean?" Tea blinked as the computer said error. "That's not a good sign."

"Error?" Kaiba was frowning as he considered. "That's odd, try the opening of 'System' and then give this command: "Emergency override, reset guess player account Lady Celia."

"Sure, can't go any worse than the last one." Tea nodded and repeated the commands Kaiba told her.

"**Accessing Command…Error. No guest player Lady Celia."**

"Great…you must have used a malfunctioning access capsual." Kaiba sighed. "I will have to go to the warehouse and figure out what is wrong."

"Well…do I just wait here then?" Tea asked curiously. _"I don't really wanna depend on Kaiba…but I sort of have to."_

"Yes…well, sort of. I don't want you messing up my game anymore than you already have." Kaiba commented, glancing around. "System. Move all players to program seven zero one three."

"**Command recognized. Shifting players interface programs now."**

"Huh?" Tea blinked and swayed as the world moved around her and seemed to bleed together as if someone had tossed water on an oil painting. It was so disorienting she was down on her knees by the time the world had moved to where it was recognizable again.

They had moved places, now they were in a large field with a cabin nearby emitting smoke. The air had changed and the temperature was cooler, the grass was tickling her legs where she was now settled on the ground. "You should warn me when you are going to do that."

"It's a bad sign if transferring programs is making you dizzy Gardner." Seto remarked coolly. "Just don't wander or give the computer any commands. I'll be over to the warehouse test facility to fix this mess you've made shortly."

"Hey, I didn't mean…"

"System. Relinquish access, begin revival sequence." Kaiba interrupted her apology as he humph-ed and prepared to leave her to the virtual realm.

"**Command Recognized. Initiating revival measures, disconnecting player Seto from the mainframe."**

After the computer finished it's announcement Kaiba vanished from the field and left Tea to sit and eye the empty air where he'd disappeared. _"Great…now I'm trapped here instead of just in the warehouse. What if Kaiba can't get me out of here?"_

It was a frightening thought and one that definitely left her ignoring her skirt as she felt the dew of the grass starting to dampen the stylish clothing. She didn't feel like exploring now that the threat of being trapped in a virtual reality was weighing upon her.

"_But Kaiba's a genius right?"_ She tried to reassure herself. _"He knows how to deal with all the computer stuff…he should be able to get me out of here. Shouldn't he?"_

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"_I'm so glad I fired that loser Godfrey and his lazy lackeys."_ Kaiba complained as he woke up in his own accessing capsule…the machinery sliding open even as his eyes did. _"Figures that it was one of their assignments where that cheerleader broke in. Of course…she never was much for lying. I wouldn't put it past their poor skills to have just left the door open on their last check."_

He climbed free of the virtual machinery and moved to look at the mainframe computer, it was showing Tea as a guest accessing but hadn't actually assigned her a name. Which would make it difficult for it to recognize her to remove her. _"But the emergency override command should have disconnected her…"_

He sighed, why was it the geek squad could ruin his day even when he wasn't having a tournament? He would just have to check the readings at the warehouse itself. He pulled on his white leather jacket and moved out of the room. At least he got a chance on rare occasion to use that sports car he'd paid half a million dollars for.

"_Not my best investment."_ He admitted. _"Though I was in a hurry at the time. Dartz is just one more fool I don't want to dwell on though."_

Kaiba headed into the garage and over to the red vehicle, tugging his keys free and opening the door. Getting inside to start it up, putting his seat belt on and preparing to go before hitting the gas.

"_I'd contact her friends to make fun of her…but knowing the losers they'd run over to try to help and just bother me more."_ He was pondering the situation as he took to the streets, heading toward his eventually destination near the docks. _"She's lucky Mokuba did make me access today or who knows how long she'd of been stuck in there. Not that it's not tempting just to leave her to rot, but there is the whole legal issue - just one more thing I don't need to deal with."_

It took about fifteen minutes to get to that side of town, it would have been longer but Kaiba had a thing for speeding when he drove. It was more that he was so used to the convinces of his helicopter that even speeding in the sports vehicle often seemed too slow. Then there was the matter that he had to park a couple blocks from the particular building in question. It wasn't the best neighborhood to be wandering in in the evening but the young duelist didn't seem concerned by it.

He reached the warehouse and entered the correct code to open the door and start the power, moving inside and letting the metal door slide closed again - unlike Tea he knew how to get himself out of the security he'd set up. He considered the room and how dusty it was, looking it over and noting the friend of Yugi slumbering inside the second connection capsule on the far wall.

Short brunette hair was resting around her face, eyes closed and face relaxed, gentle. She was still wearing her school uniform…which was a bit odd as school didn't start until next week… _"Out getting it fitted perhaps?"_

It had been a few months and she seemed a little taller so it would make sense if she had taken some time to get it tailored. Kaiba shrugged a little, moving over to the computer to pull her mind out of the system.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Tea had finally gotten up, even if it wasn't real, the feeling of dew soaking through her skirt was still uncomfortable even if it wasn't real. It was getting cold in the open field as the sun was beginning to set and bugs were starting to bother her so she went over to the only refuge Kaiba had left her near, the cabin.

The scent of pine mingled into the air with that of a stew cooling on the stove within the homey cabin. Unlike the estate where she'd first started in this digital world this place had a bit of a mess in the kitchen and various tools and clutter about the room. There were pictures of mountains and other outdoor scenes hung on different parts of the walls. A set of steps went up to a second floor, there was a large sofa and a couple overstuffed chairs surrounding a bear skin carpet in front of the fireplace.

There were the various tools along the walls, along with a couple bookshelves and a pile of firewood. A door lead into a back area that was probably a bathroom judging the change of wooden flooring to tile.

Her legs still hurt as she walked, muscles still sore from her run from the goons and she moved and sat down, it wouldn't really help anymore given she was actually laying down, but this place was proof that the mind could trick the body if it wanted too.

"It's not so bad though I guess." She admitted with a tired smile as she looked around at all the details. "I can see how technology like this would make Kaiba more than a billionaire…what is beyond billionaire anyway? Double billionaire?"

She shrugged a little. _"I can't really imagine having that much money. I have to keep a part time job just so I'll be able to pay for a dancing college after high school. I'll be in debt from loans until I'm half dead and he has enough cash to own a country or two."_

"_Course, you can't buy a personality."_ She smirked at herself. _"I'll take being a good person over being rich any day."_

Not that she was being very fair, Kaiba had worked hard for what he had and he was a genius. He wasn't a bad person either - just a jerk. He did care about his brother and a lot of his pursuits were for kids, so he could give joys to others that he could never take part of himself. Though, it wasn't as if Tea completely understood his intentions either - but the green of envy was a color Kaiba was well acquainted with.

She was starting to nap a little before she heard the door start to open, glancing over to see Kaiba coming back inside with his usual neutral expression. Well, at least she could get out of this fantasy world and back to her life.

"There is a problem." Kaiba commented as he watched her, eye contact was something the young CEO was good at. "I am not able to extract your consciousness from the system at this time."

**End Chapter**

**So moving things right along. How is poor Tea going to escape!? Will Kaiba just leave her there to rot? Well…probably not - that would ruin the plot wouldn't it? Please keep reading and reviewing. I 3 feedback!**

**-Nera**


	4. C4: Polite Conversation

**Drowning in Blue**

_"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."_

_**-Anais Nin**_

**Chapter Four:** _Polite Conversation_

Tea had to blink slowly at what she'd just been told, eyes opening and closing several times slowly as she kept sitting on the couch, blue eyes meeting his unabashedly for one of very few times. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." He replied, having no pity for the girl…it was her own fault she was stuck here as far as he was concerned. "I will need some time to rework some programming issues before I'll be able to extract your consciousness from the mainframe."

"But…that doesn't make sense." She blinked and shook her head, not accepting what he was telling her. "You said you could get me free when you went to the warehouse. Did you not go there?"

"I am in the warehouse facility accessing now." Kaiba commented with a small sigh. "Because you are not a registered user and this is testing equipment the coding is off from where it needs to be. Someone breaking in and accessing the system wasn't planned for when the programming was written."

"But…but…" She was grasping for more options. "Can't you just shut it down and wake me up that way?"

"I could." He agreed even as he shook his head negatively, yet offering her a moment of hope. "But, that would be exceptionally dangerous. It could give you some sort of brain damage to be forcibly removed, or at worst actually separate your consciousness and the link that you have to your body. Remember that this is only testing equipment, as I've previously mentioned…it isn't yet completely formatted and only those that have agreed to the risks have been allowed to test it at all."

And that short glimmer of hope was shattered to bits as easily as thin ice.

"So…how long is it going to take?" She asked anxiously, holding her arms nervously around herself, it didn't matter if it wasn't real - it made her feel better. "I mean…school starts in a week…am I going to be out of here by then."

"It could take years." He commented seriously.

"What!?" She jumped up, staring in fright at him.

He smirked and then laughed at her pale alarmed face. "Relax Gardner, it shouldn't take me more than a day to rewrite the necessary programs…though I probably won't be able to finish it tonight. I'll need to go back and sleep and I have a lot of work I'm missing because of your little trespassing issue."

"Don't do that!" She exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief as he corrected his initial estimate, sitting back down on the couch. "Goodness! I thought my heart was going to stop. Are you sure you can't get me out of here sooner? I'm going to miss work too."

"Yes, because delivering burgers is obviously much more important than running an international company." He commented, moving over to sit on the couch next to her. "I think the fast food industry can go a day without a waitress."

"_Ooh, he is such a conceited ass."_ Tea steamed to herself as she ground her teeth, afraid if she insulted him to his face he would leave her in here. Going a different rout with her argument than name-calling. "Hey, unlike you, I can't afford to miss a day of work."

He had a suitcase with him…she was so used to seeing him with one that she hadn't much thought about it at first…though when it had a laptop instead of dueling cards in it she was a little more shocked by it's presence. She doubted Kaiba ever went anywhere without his cards or dueling disk - even the digital world.

"What do you need money for anyway Gardner?" He continued to fuel her annoyance as he opened the laptop and started to fiddle with windows - she assumed it had to do with accessing the program they were in now. "Parents won't buy you all the clothes you want?"

More grinding of teeth, her tone was growing shorter as time went on.

"I have interests of my own for more school when we graduate. My parents don't agree with it though so I have to pay for it myself." She did her best not to snap but her words were still harsher than she was trying for being at the mercy of Seto Kaiba.

"You have plans after high school?" He sounded surprised, still not even looking at her as he typed away, fingers clicking speedily at the keys. "What are those? Parents not in for cheerleading school?"

"Not that it's any of your business." she muttered, still half grinding her teeth. "but I want to be a dancer."

"You shouldn't mumble if you want to impress people." Kaiba had to admit that riling the geek squad co-leader was a fun way to pass the time while he re-programmed things.

"Oh, I can't believe you are such a damn irritable narcissist." She snapped harshly, crossing her arms and fuming. "Can't wait to get out of here so I can leave and get the hell away from you."

"I could just leave you here you know." He remarked as he hit the backspace a couple times then continued typing.

"You would have left me already if you were going to do that." She challenged, noting he hadn't stopped working.

"_Oh lord, I need to learn when to be quiet."_ She thought as he glanced up from the computer to look at her directly again. She kept his gaze though, staring back, doing her best to look challenging still. _"But I'm tired of him walking all over everybody. He needs to grow up."_

"I'll give you that you have gall Gardner…but now probably isn't the best time for it. I'd recommend you not push your luck." He observed in what was his way of a backwards compliment, amused that she'd stood up to him even in her precarious position.

"Uh…yeah…" She half-agreed, nervously rubbing the back of her head again. "So…um…what are you planning to do after high school?"

If she was stuck here she might as well try to have some sort of grown-up conversation with her unwitting captor.

"Planning to run Kaiba corp." He commented. "Are you sure the connection isn't getting to you?"

"Yes." She deadpanned, half-glaring at the typing teenager next to her. "Just trying to pass the time. Guess I shouldn't expect any kind of mature conversation out of you."

"Just have to come up with a topic that has an intelligence level beyond juvenile." He replied easily, almost able to feel the heat coming from the angry girl next to him. She was almost too easy - and he thought it was simple to push Wheeler's buttons. He smirked when he heard her grinding her teeth again.

"Fine." She managed to mostly sound level. "Why hasn't this facility been used in a while? It seemed pretty abandoned when I wandered in."

"We lost some of the people that initially signed on to test so we closed a couple of the testing sites temporarily until more bugs were worked out. It was simply more cost efficient to not keep them powered if we didn't have to." Kaiba explained as he continued to type. "They haven't been updated with the latest fixes that the other sites have, which is why this bug is occurring in the first place."

"Oh." She considered that. "So that's what you're doing now? Just updating stuff so I'll be able to leave."

"Basically yes, you probably wouldn't understand the finer details." He commented, not even trying to be rude that time, just being honest. "Why were people chasing you anyway?"

"I don't know." She frowned a bit, just another issue she had to deal with when she got out of here. "I figure it probably has something to do with Yugi again but I'm not sure what…after Bakura's evil alter-ego I thought we were clear of bad guys."

"I can have it looked into…there should be a security camera that was accessing the street outside so if they were near here I should be able to get a visual recognition." Kaiba commented, still clicking away at the keys in front of him. Harsh blue eyes reflecting the gentle glow of the screen.

"That would be great." Tea smiled at that. "Wow, I guess you aren't so bad sometimes Kaiba."

"Don't get too overjoyed." He chuckled darkly. "Usually when someone messes with Yugi I'm next in line. I'm just preempting any attacks on myself or my company."

"Guess you didn't want to ruin your asshole reputation." She deadpanned again, frowning at him.

"Just don't want you to start thinking I'm a candidate for one of your cheesy friendship speeches." He shrugged lightly. "Last thing I want to hear."

"_God…why did I think we could have a regular conversation?"_ She fumed, getting quiet and sitting to herself, staring at the fire. _"There's no way he'd take the time to actually be nice to anyone…though I guess a beggar shouldn't be a chooser. I don't really want to be alone and he is sitting with me while he rewrites all this."_

"Did you and Mokuba ever find Noah again?" She had to admit she was a little curious what happened to the green haired mini-Kaiba.

"No. And unlike Mokuba I'm not sad about it." He shrugged with his reply. "Mokuba is hoping that if we continue to develop this program the upstart will find a way in but I figure whatever remains of him is at the bottom of the ocean with the rest of the small island we destroyed.

"Oh. Well, I guess that's sort of good." She had to admit that even though Noah had helped them escape she didn't have the fondest memories of the boy that turned her friends into statues and turned Mokuba against his older brother. "Mokuba talk about it much?"

"Not anymore thankfully." Kaiba glanced over to the talkative girl. "It would be easier to do this, and faster, if you didn't keep bothering me."

"I…" She frowned again. "was just trying to pass the time. I don't want to think about being stuck here, so I'm scared okay! I just…I'm frightened…"

"_Yeah, that'll do you a lot of good."_ She sighed at herself. _"He wouldn't care if I was bleeding to death, he'd still make some rude comment."_

"Gardner." He was still looking at her now, having ceased typing to watch her. "Tea."

Him actually using her first name made her look up, she hadn't been expecting it…only to find something more shocking. He touched her forehead with a finger and offered a reassuring smile. "Relax. I said I'd get you out of here in a day or two. I will."

Then he was right back to typing away and the shocking moment left Tea staring at her young benefactor. _"Wait…was he just nice to me? Seto Kaiba? Maybe this is still a part of the program and it's not really him."_

She was quiet then, touching her fingers to her forehead and rubbing it where he'd pushed on it just a little. _"He does have a little brother…it makes sense that he'd have to deal with nightmares and other problems sometimes…but Kaiba with a supportive smile? This isn't a real world anymore for sure."_

"Thank you Kaiba." She smiled at him, watching him dive right back into his work as if the small exchange had never occurred at all. Chocolate bangs settled over cerulean eyes as he stared at the lines of code, fingers flying over the keys as he continued to work at re-writing things…her own programming hero of sorts.

"I can't just leave you here…like you said…I wouldn't want the legal repercussions." he returned, voice back to it's usual superior mock. "Now stop pestering me and do something else."

"_Or just a rich egomaniac…"_ She thought in annoyance and got up from the couch to go look around her virtual prison.

**End Chapter**

_Hmm, well, I'm not sure still if I consider him 'comforting' her a moment ic or not yet. I do figure he has a little brother and has had to help him before, so he has that part of himself…it just doesn't surface much. Things are moving along ;) Thanks so much for the reviews and support. I luv you muchly for them! This chapter takes me over 10,000 words…my first fiction that long…ooh!_

_-Nera_

_Crazedchocofan - I did think about that._

_Cinder pool - You make me giggle._

_Forever Blue - Thank you so much for the nifty review. I hope I continue to live up to good expectations._


	5. C5: Appreciating Loneline

_**Drowning in Blue**_

_"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul."_

**-Judy Garland**

**Chapter Five:** _Appreciating Loneliness _

Mmm, a warm bath was lovely even in the virtual world Tea decided. For a cabin that was suppose to be somewhat rugged the bathroom was pretty big and had a hot tub - something she couldn't pass up trying in the digital realm if Kaiba was just going to waste away on the couch typing.

"_Not that I should complain." _She thought to herself as she leaned back to enjoy the feel of the warm pressure on her legs - it wouldn't actually fix the damage she'd done when she was dashing away from those goons this afternoon but it was nice to trick herself into feeling a little better for a while. _"If he wasn't out there working I'd be stuck in here a lot longer than I am being already. I have to give Kaiba, that sometimes he can backup that ego of his…not that I'd ever tell him. His head's already big enough I'm surprised his shoulders can support it."_

She sunk into the water to try to distract herself, getting her hair soaked and settling a moment before coming back up to the surface of her water, her cheeks pink but not from the water's temperature. She couldn't get that short moment out of her mind, when Kaiba smiled at her like she was actually a person, when it was as if he was really trying to make her feel better. She rubbed her forehead, it didn't hurt but the memory of him poking her made it subconscious. _"What the hell is wrong with me anyway? It was just a split second of humanity…probably not something I'll ever see again. I've seen the world nearly end and not dwelled on it so much."_

Well, that wasn't completely true, but the idea of having Kaiba stuck in her head was getting to her, she never really thought about guys much. Other than the pharaoh, but he had been gone sense the middle of the summer when Yugi defeated him in a duel…she was sort of dating Yugi sense then, but she'd never really thought about Yugi like she had the pharaoh.

"_And now I'm thinking about Kaiba?"_ She sighed and sunk into the water again, blowing bubbles out through her nose in frustration sense she couldn't really make noise without getting complained at again. _"This can't be good. Maybe my brain is rotting cause of being in this virtual world."_

Tea came back up to the surface and pushed her hair back, taking a breath. As comfortable as the water was she knew staying in much longer would turn her skin raisin like. So instead she went ahead and got out, picking up a fluffy emerald towel and starting to dry off. She would have preferred a real bath but this would have to make do. This place hadn't had a selection of female clothes so she was stuck putting back on the ones she'd picked out from the other program earlier.

"Brrr." She mumbled. _"Man, it's cold in here for having a fire outside."_

She rubbed the towel through her hair for a long while before finding a brush to get out any tangles - not that she usually had an issue with her short hair. She was lingering longer than she normally would in the bathroom but she also wasn't sure she wanted to return to the main room yet. She didn't want to end up getting pissed at the young CEO outside and then getting him to leave her in here even longer when she shot her big mouth off.

"_So much for things slowing down once the pharaoh was gone."_ She thought listlessly before settling to open the door. He didn't even look up from his place on the couch, though he had removed his leather coat and settled it nearby, sitting just in his black shirt and pants as he continued to pick away at his reprogramming.

Without the coat he at least seemed a bit more friendly, the pointy leather had always made her a little nervous to get to close to him with. She had to admit she didn't mind the slightly softer side of Kaiba. _"Which would make him what? Down to rock from diamond?"_

"Something wrong?" Kaiba paused to glance at her and then back at the screen.

"No." She blushed again as she realized she had been staring. Stepping back across the room to stand near the fire a moment, enjoying the feel of the warmth. "How is it coming?"

"Tediously." He replied honestly. "I should probably actually leave soon, I've already stayed later than I should have because I wanted to finish a few extra lines."

"Oh." She deflated a little at that…she didn't want to be left all alone here. Even in the other city the fake people had been better than no people at all. "Do you have to leave?"

"I thought we had this conversation." He commented coolly, the clicking keys something that told her he wasn't looking at her even if she couldn't see him.

"I know…" She sighed, one of her hands fiddling with her wet hair anxiously. "I just don't want to be left all alone in here…to think about being all alone in that warehouse…it's just…would you stay please? Couldn't you contact Mokuba somehow?"

She didn't want to ask him, but it was said before she'd really thought about it. She couldn't turn around and look at him, the clicking had stopped so she knew he was staring, her cheeks stained pink again she couldn't let him see her blushing, that would be too much to an already stressful day.

It was so quiet, if it hadn't been for the sound of the fire crackling nearby she was certain she would be back in the situation of listening to her heart pounding.

"I can call Mokuba…though I will have to log out of the system to do so."

By the time he'd actually said it she jumped when he first started talking, it had startled her…having been almost a full minute sense she'd finished asking. _"Wait…he said he'd stay? That's what he's saying?"_

She finally turned around but he wasn't looking at her, he was shutting down the laptop he had been working on…she moved over and sat on the couch. She was afraid if she thanked him he would leave and not come back so she just sat silently, surprised he hadn't made fun of her for the silly request.

"I'm going to need to set up a few appointments and have people deal with some of my work tomorrow. It'll probably take me about thirty minutes." He explained, looking back up toward her. "You think you'll survive that long Gardner? I'm not going to come back to some sobbing geek am I?"

"I'll be fine." She deadpanned again at the comments. _"Why did I ask him to stay again?"_

"Good." He smirked as she got irritated with him. "System. Relinquish Access, begin revival sequence."

"**Command Recognized. Initiating revival measures, disconnecting player Seto from the mainframe."**

After a moment he had vanished and Tea sighed to herself, laying across the couch. _"Oh god, what did I just get myself into? What the hell is wrong with me? I don't like to be alone…but the last person on earth that I wanted to know that was Seto Kaiba. I can't believe he actually agreed to stay here with me…how pathetic did I have to sound to convince him of all people to stay here?"_

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Kaiba considered Tea's face as she slept, her mind trapped in the beta version of his virtual gaming system. He was waiting for Mokuba to answer the phone, the sharp ringing at a comfortable volume near his ear…unlike Tea's phone his still managed to get a signal in the closed off building. _"Mokuba is making me soft…I should have told her no. I'd never heard her sound so miserable…"_

"Hello?" His thoughts were cut short by his little brother's greeting at the other end of the line.

"Mokuba, an emergency regarding Tea Gardner has popped up. She got herself trapped in the virtual gaming test mainframe at one of the sites we hadn't been using." Kaiba explained, sounding irritated as he went on. "I will need a day or two to rewrite the programming so I'll be able to safely pull her mind back out of the system. Can you let Roland and my secretaries know they'll be doing some overtime the next week or so too keep up with the work I'll be missing?"

"Sure." the younger Kaiba brother agreed instantly, sounding worried. "Is Tea okay?"

"She'll be fine, though I think it's frightened her." Kaiba sighed. "I'll be keeping the connection so I can watch and make sure her brain isn't degrading at all from the extended link."

"I'll make certain everything is fine while you can't be here bro. No problem." Mokuba assured. "Give her my best. Keep me updated."

"Yeah." He refrained from a huff at his brother barking orders and instead continued. "Also, she said some people were chasing her, which is how this whole fiasco began. I want you to check the computer camera's and get an identification on her pursuers, also…as much as I hate to waste resources, contact the rest of the geek squad and ask them about it. They might have some idea of what's going on."

"Sure thing." He could hear Mokuba scribbling down notes in the background. "What test site are you at?"

"The warehouse down by the docks." Kaiba answered quietly, silently eyeing the room as he lingered on the phone. "Think you can handle everything?"

"Yep." Mokuba returned cheerfully. "I'll access the system and let you know when we have anymore information."

"Good. I'll see you in a couple of days Mokuba." Kaiba hung up the phone, it was as much of a good-bye as the cool CEO ever offered anyone on the phone.

He stared at the first accessing capsule on the wall, it was still warm from where he'd just crawled out of it. He knew he shouldn't take too long, that she might be freaking out on her side of the virtual world…but he also was hesitant to really leave the company in Mokuba's care for several days unobserved. He trusted his brother but also knew that he would never lose his naivety. If there were people out to get the geek squad and possibly him it was the worst time for him to be away from his younger sibling.

Seto Kaiba though was a man of his word, he'd already told Tea he'd return so he would. He had to learn to let Mokuba stand on his own sometime, this was as good a first test as any.

He hopped back into the system. "Initiate connection sequence. Capsule one, player account Seto Kaiba."

"**Command recognized. Please prepare for mental connection to mainframe."**

"Yeah…prepare isn't needed where Gardner is concerned. She'll probably just start talking about friendship." He muttered as he closed his eyes, used to the whole show that the connection sequence involved. The sweet smell made him wonder a bit, that was a sign the tanks of air were getting stale. Perhaps it was better over all that he'd found his fellow student, if he had waited more than a week their might not have been the resources left to keep her sleeping body alive.

"_Definitely a sign I need to work out the programming soon."_

"You came back." It was the first thing he heard as he reappeared in the cabin program where he'd moved her. She didn't have to sound that surprised.

"I could leave if you've changed your mind." He remarked coolly as he let his vision readjust, he'd learned how to keep his feet when first logging onto the mainframe but it still took time to get himself ready to actually move around.

"No…I just figured you'd ditch me." She replied, she was making something in the kitchen…it did smell good. The taste programming he'd put extensive work into at least someone was using, too bad he wouldn't actually get any substance out of it. There was no way to actually program something into being nutritious. "You know you don't have to eat."

"Well I figured probably not. But I'm hungry and pretending to eat something might help a little." She answered, winking toward him from her place in the kitchen. Infinitely different from the way she'd been when he'd left, even her stance, the very ambience of her had reverted to it's usual sickly cheerfulness. "I figured I'd dish us up some of the stew and made some brownies…just put them in."

"Do you bake often?" He was well enough adjusted to move and sit down again, opening back up the machine he was using to access and re-write the program.

"I like to bake and cook." Tea confirmed, carrying both bowls over and setting one on both end tables at either side of the couch. Walking back to pick back up sodas and some bread. "I don't get time to do it much though."

"You did mention you work often. To pay for dancing school, are you any good?" He was back to exactly how he'd been before he left, save he had the white jacket on again as opposed to off.

"Good enough that I've gotten a few schools to agree to consider me." Tea tried to ignore the ruder tones in his voice and register them as normal. "I just need to save the money so that I don't have to worry about my parents approval. Hopefully I won't lose my job from being stuck here."

"I'm sure one of your friends will contact your job." Kaiba commented. "I doubt anyplace would fire you under the circumstances. Emergencies are given some leeway in absences from what I understand."

"Yeah, that's true." She nodded. "My manager changed recently though and this new guy is kind of strict…I honestly hope he's not around long."

"I figure a lot of people think the same thing about me." Kaiba smirked some at her description. Nodding lightly as she delivered the soda, pausing to half-eat/drink the food she offered. He wouldn't openly agree with her but he was hungry too and it at least kept his stomach quieter if it thought he was giving it something.

She giggled at his comment. "I wonder if they have parties when you aren't there to watch them…sighs of relief."

"I don't care if they dance as long as they do their job and do it well." Kaiba shrugged. "A certain professional image must be kept depending on the departments where people work but it's more a matter of the work they put in as far as I'm concerned."

"Huh." Tea wondered a little to herself as she ate. She had expected Kaiba to be more like 'Perfection or your fired!' the whole idea made her smile some. It was nice to know he wasn't a complete prick after all.

"Though I figure you or your friends wouldn't last more than a couple of days." He added.

"_Just really damn close to it…" _She thought at him as she sent him a dirty look he was oblivious to. _"Why is it every time he does anything redeeming he then has to lessen it in some way by opening that huge mouth of his?"_

"Thanks." She managed in the dry tone that she was getting accustomed to falling into around the taller boy. "I work very hard I'll have you know…and unlike you I'm capable of people skills."

"Don't need people skills when you are the one in charge of everything." He shrugged. "Though I didn't see you as the working type."

"And what type did you see me as?" She asked, then kicked herself. _"That was dumb! I know I don't want to know."_

"I figured you'd be more likely to whine about work…or cheer on everyone else doing it." He smirked some as he noted he was getting to her again. Getting a rise out of the yugi-fan-club would never cease to be amusing.

"Just something else you are wrong about then." She snootily snapped back at him. _"Geez, I can't believe him…this place IS getting to me if I was thinking about him being a nice guy for even a second."_

"Happens on rare occasion." He admitted, eyes not leaving his screen.

"My goodness, I think I'm gonna choke…there's no room for air in here with how big your head is…your stealing it all." She held a hand dramatically over her forehead. "I'm going to sit her and read…talking to you I might get crushed by ego."

He paused at that to raise a deep cinnamon brow at his guest. "Good, at least if you are quiet I'll be able to work on getting you out of my hair. Don't stress yourself though, I don't have any picture books on the shelf."

He smiled as he saw her form that was browsing the bookshelf get rigid with anger and turned back to continue his reprogramming.

"_Damn him!"_ She thought with irritation. "He's too damn witty for anyone's good - including his own. Prideful bastard…"

She was grinding her teeth again as she picked a book from the shelf. _"Why did I ask him to stay again? I'm starting to appreciate the feeling of loneliness…"_

**End Chapter**

_Darn them! My characters just end up arguing more than going anywhere! Tea and Kaiba are just arguing with me the whole time I'm working on this! Grumble! Grumble I say! Now to crack my knuckles and to get through their stubborn interiors. Watch my back, this is dangerous work!_

_-Nera_

_ArjunaAnja - I wish I could draw, there would be so much more fan art in the world._

_ForeverBlue90 - Thank you for the continued support!_

_CinderpoolEvilPerson - You still make me giggle._

_Crazedchocofan - Heh, I pondered it but Kaiba shall not be stuck as well. Perhaps sometime in the far far far far far far far far future when I do some other fiction. Did I mention it would be a while?_


	6. Six: Oblivious Flirt

**Drowning in Blue**

"_Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep-burning, unquenchable."_

_**-Henry Ward Beecher**_

**Chapter Six:** _Oblivious Flirt_

It was sometime late, Kaiba only figured that out by the poor lighting coming from the preprogrammed 'fire' that he'd set to lower as the early morning set in. His laptop was still humming away on his lap, he was mid line of code. _"I must have fallen asleep."_

The scene wasn't completely foreign to the young CEO. Certainly the falling asleep stuck in his work and then waking to the warmth of a overused laptop on his legs wasn't a foreign affair. Though, the setting in the cabin was much more alien than the office where he usually was during one of these groggy times. His leg was warmer than the rest of him, and he had to blink several times after he glanced down.

Tea's head was settled on the side of his lap that the portable computer wasn't taking up, still completely passed out and drooling a little on his thigh. Short brunette hair making a messy frame around her calm face, completely unaware of the questionable position she'd ended up in.

He vaguely remembered her laying on the couch but she had been reading and not near enough to him at the time to end up snuggling his left leg. He had a moment where he was tempted to ignore the bizarre scene and go back to sleep but seeing Tea there had shocked him into wakefulness.

"_Just what does she think I am?"_ He thought in half-amusement half-irritation as he watched her slumber on his lap. _"When did I degrade to being Gardner's personal pillow?"_

He had to admit that he was comfortable, but he couldn't just fall back to sleep. _"The last thing I'd ever want is for her to get the wrong idea. Isn't she suppose to be dating Yugi anyway?"_

"Gardner." He mumbled tiredly, now that the initial surprise had worn off his mind wanted to return to unconsciousness. "Gardner wake up."

"Mmm…school hasn't started yet and I don't work until four…leave me alone dad…I want to sleep in while I can." She pushed his hand away as she moaned. Her eyes didn't open but her face scrunched up in a discomforted expression as she swatted at his arm.

"Gardner!" He didn't raise his voice much but it took more of his usual harsher tone. "Get up, I'm not your father."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Is Kaiba yelling at me?" Tea pondered idly, still not opening her eyes as she lay there. "Why is Kaiba in my bedroom? Wait…Kaiba's in my bedroom?"

She blinked instantly awake, eyes shooting open as she looked up at Kaiba, freezing as she realized where she was and remembered her day hadn't been some strange dream after all. Seto hadn't yet gained his 'pissed at the world' look and was watching her with a bit of drowsiness still clinging to him. He seemed as if he was entertained in his own bizarre way by the situation she'd gotten herself into.

She tended to toss and turn a lot when she slept. _"I must have moved over and thought he was a pillow in my subconscious stupor."_

She was still staring at his astonishingly sapphire eyes, engulfed in the cobalt vibrancy of his gaze for several long seconds. _"Why does he have to be so damn sexy? It's not fair."_

"As much as I can understand your mindless gaping, could you relocate yourself and stop drooling on my pants?" Kaiba asked neutrally, his eyes growing a bit darker as she failed to move on her own.

As he spoke a cherry tint crept it's way leisurely across her cheeks before she sat up with a violent jump, tangling her legs in the white leather coat that had been her blanket and losing her balance. Gravity choosing to be her enemy as her body fell to the floor with a thump of her rear. "aaaaah…ow."

She stayed where she fell on the much colder floor, a part of her missing the comfy warm spot she'd had on the couch until she woke up. _"I pissed off the god of luck…I just know it."_

"I'm sorry." She mumbled from the floor, still without moving. She needed the cold floor to sink it's way into her hot face. "I didn't mean…"

"There is a bed upstairs." He commented, leaning down to pick up his coat from the floor and off of Tea to dust it off…pausing when she shivered after he took the added warmth it was offering to her with the skimpy outfit. He let go and left the coat, leaning back on the couch again and rubbing his eyes before picking back up his laptop. "I have work to do. You'll rest better if you aren't in the same room as typing."

She rubbed her thigh as she got up, tugging the coat back on gratefully as she watched Kaiba and stifled a yawn. He was back to ignoring her, though he hadn't taken a lot of the shots he could have. He hadn't exactly asked her if she was okay, but he was being polite for him. It was one of those things like a train wreck; so rare it's hard to look away from.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" She asked tiredly, still a bit embarrassed but worried about him. "It has to be two or three in the morning."

"I have work to do and I'll manage…I don't sleep much." Kaiba replied with a shrug, he was back to typing again.

"Don't you think if you are tired you might make a mistake though?" Tea tried to reason him into getting some z's.

"I don't make mistakes Gardner." he commented at her, voice completely back to it's cool insulting tone. "Besides, I thought you didn't want to be trapped in here so you could make it to flip burgers at four."

She frowned at that and walked up, closing his laptop while he was still typing…he only had a moment to get his fingers free. "Look…I didn't want to get chased by a bunch of goons and get stuck in your damn virtual world but I did. I don't want to lose my job but I don't want you to get sick trying to get me out of here. That'll just make me feel worse than I already do…so just lie down and sleep for a while!"

"What are you doing?!" He snapped in irritation, still holding onto his computer as she did.

Tea was staring at him, though with the lack of the gentle light from the laptop it was much harder to see in the darkness. Probably better for her, she was already feeling a lot more nervous than her rant had let on, and she knew that abusing the equipment that he was using to fix things probably wasn't the best way to get her out of here sooner. He pulled the laptop from her grasp harshly and she tried to hold on, only managing to be tugged right back into the frying pan she'd been in earlier.

The girl blushing furiously as she ended up back in the CEO's lap after his fierce jerk, letting go of the equipment as she squeaked in embarrassed protest of her forced relocation. She heard him settle the computer on the desk nearby, though from the way his body had tensed she figured he was angry with her.

"I was just trying to help." Her voice was more muted as she tried to regain her balance without moving too much and hurting Kaiba. "You didn't have to pull me over."

"It wasn't intentional." He replied coldly, settling a hand on her back to help her catch her center of balance. "Could you get off me now and let me work."

"Oh, you mean it was a mistake? I'll get up when you agree to get some rest." She retorted, it was bold but she doubted she could get him to sleep any other way.

"You'll get dropped on the floor shortly." He retorted, ignoring the slight to his perfection. "Unless you move."

"I used to wrestle with my brother all the time, wanna bet?" She smirked to herself, amused at his challenge and rising to it. Remembering the days she used to wrangle with her sibling on the floor or couch, she was a wiry thing and had every intention of being stubborn this time.

He sighed and started to get himself up, wavering when she threw her arms around his neck and legs around his waste. _"She used to wrestle with her brother like this? Would incest explain her lack of sense? How exactly is this suppose to inspire sleepiness?"_

Kaiba sat back under the added weight when she snaked her body around him, blinking at her in surprise as she forcefully straddled him. Her head was still pressed to his shoulder as she clung on, apparently her thoughts were more pure than the turn his had taken. It didn't help that she was still in a skirt and wearing his coat - there was just something attractive about a woman in his clothes. Tea wasn't bad looking either, she definitely had the body to dance…and was proving herself strong and flexible enough.

He was considering kissing her neck.

"Fine." He gave in, it was the only way to get her off of him and stop the way his treacherous mind was going. "Get off me Gardner."

Tea let go then and stood back up smiling as if she'd finally won. _"She is completely oblivious isn't she?"_

"Good, now get some sleep." She insisted. "If I see that light on I'll come back down and close it on your fingers this time."

"Are you done?" He raised a brow at her continued attitude, his voice not at all giving away his still impure thoughts. "Or shall I wait for you to finish your demands before I lay down."

"Right then." She nodded seriously. "Goodnight Kaiba."

She moved along to head upstairs to the bedroom. Leaving Seto to put his hands into his hair to push it back from his face, leaning over to lay down on the couch as promised before settling an arm over his eyes. _"Maybe extended connection to the mainframe makes men hopeless. No other reason why I'm being nicer than I should be to that geek. I should have dropped her on the floor."_

"_If she's dating Yugi why would she keep laying on me like that?"_ He pondered as he tried to relax after the frighteningly exhilarating experience. _"Maybe she finally figured out how much money I'm actually worth."_

He knew though that that wasn't true, that the girl upstairs was too honest for her own good, which was the whole reason he was bothering to try to sleep at all. _"I've got to finish the reprogramming soon and get the hell out of here."_

It was an odd final thought before sleep, but he hadn't been lying when he said he rarely got rest so it didn't take long before the peace and quiet sunk into his bones and drug him back into the peaceful oblivion of rest.

And while he was able to sleep, one floor above him Tea was left trapped and awake, lost in her own thoughts and fresh emotions involving the passed out boy below her.

"_Did I really just straddle Kaiba?"_ She was blushing into the blankets of the bed she'd crawled into, she vaguely wanted to cry. _"What is wrong with me?"_

She hadn't realized what she was doing at first, nor that she was still wearing a skirt…not until after she was half-way up the steps had her dunce brain caught up and realized what she'd actually done.

"_What the hell is wrong with me!?"_ her brain repeated in a mental scream as she punched her pillow and resisted the urge to actually yell, instead whimpering and shaking her head. _"I can't believe I did that…what the hell must he be thinking about me now? I am so stupid…I can't do stuff like that. No more touching Kaiba!"_

"So that means I can still look?" She pondered, then pushed the pillow on her face to yell weakly into it. _"Life is so unfair…I don't like Seto Kaiba…I don't…liking to look at him…well…that doesn't make me like him…I'm not that shallow!"_

"_He has a monstrous personality…it'd be like crushing on the devil right? Right. But man…when I stared into his eyes for that short moment, the world was okay. I felt safe when he was nearby."_ She sighed and put the pillow back behind her head. _"He's just a friend Tea. As far as he's concerned he's probably not even that. He's only here so you don't sue him."_

"_But…he did stay when he didn't have too…he's actually tolerated me making a complete ass of myself a few times now."_ She pondered with another intake of breath and dramatic exhale. _"I think I have a crush on Seto Kaiba. I am so completely and utterly screwed."_

**End Chapter**

_Ended up shorter than I would have liked. Please keep in mind that while there is a tad bit of oocness that they are teenagers (even Kaiba). As gasp worthy as that is. So I'm trying to think like them and have them act like teenagers at the same time - tis hard for me. I'm old._

_-Nera_

_Crazedchocofan - Heh, um, thanks I think? Ditches cone when no one is looking._

_ForeverBlue90 - I went with nicer cause it's after the end of the series - and by then he was much nicer than the beginning._


End file.
